State To Seek Death In Fatal Beating Case

A Riviera Beach man charged with beating his 4-year-old stepson to death showed no emotion on Tuesday morning when he learned prosecutors will seek the death penalty against him.

Unlike previous court hearings where an anxious-looking D'Andre Bannister sat with his hands clasped as if in prayer, the 20-year-old aspiring rapper appeared relaxed after the announcement.

Tarquez Woodson, his stepson, died Aug. 9 from brain damage caused two days earlier by blunt force. Emergency room personnel said that besides the head injuries, Tarquez had bruises covering his body and internal injuries that required doctors to remove part of his pancreas.

Tarquez was taken to the hospital after his mother, Pameka Robinson, came home from work and found him unconscious, according to police reports. Robinson has said she tried to call 911, but Bannister wouldn't let her. Only after arguing did he agree to drive her and her son to the emergency room, police said.

Prior to Tarquez's death, the Department of Children & Families investigated three abuse complaints involving the boy. At one point two years ago, he was taken from his parents and lived with a relative.

Bannister has said Tarquez fell from a cabbage palm tree in the family's front yard that day and that's what caused the fatal head injuries. Bannister didn't waver from that account during three hours of questioning by Palm Beach County Sheriff's detectives shortly before his arrest.

Evelyn Ziegler, Bannister's attorney, said on Tuesday that there is only one way her client could have stood the detectives' intense questioning without contradicting himself -- by telling the truth. She said she was disappointed with the decision to seek the death penalty.

The Capital Felony Review Committee, a panel of seven senior prosecutors with State Attorney Barry Krischer's office, voted on Thursday to pursue the death penalty, said Michael Edmondson, Krischer's spokesman. He declined to discuss which specific factors prompted the prosecutors' decision.

In addition to facing a first-degree murder charge, Bannister also faces a count of aggravated child abuse and two counts of kidnapping. The kidnapping charges arise from the allegations that he initially refused to allow his wife to take her son out of the house after she discovered the boy unconscious.

Local child welfare officials said last month they made considerable missteps in protecting Tarquez from harm, failing to fully take into account past instances of drug abuse and domestic violence in the household. As a result of Tarquez's case, all local DCF investigators and lawyers now get a full day of domestic violence training on top of the 16 hours that comes as an introduction to the job.

Tarquez's first contact with DCF came in April 2000 when he was brought to the hospital with a bruised leg that an emergency room doctor thought was caused by intentional abuse. A month later, Tarquez was back at the hospital with similar leg injuries and bruised ears.

The boy was taken from his parents in May 2000 and reunited with them six months later after they agreed to participate in anger management, drug treatment and other programs, according to DCF records.

Tarquez came to DCF's attention again in 2001 when West Palm Beach police arrested Bannister and Robinson in separate domestic violence incidents in a two-month span.

Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@sun-sentinel or 561-832-2895.